What are some book series like Harry Potter [quaint, pleasant, deep lore] but less childish and bigoted?
Hillock @ Hillock @kbin.social Posts 0Comments 164Joined 2 yr. ago
Hillock @ Hillock @kbin.social
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Recently TikTok basically confirmed they are sending US citizens' data abroad. Yes, it's "only" from creators but it still goes against their previous statement of not storing any user data in China.
This was in response to evidence surfacing that TikTok is giving China access to user data.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/08/tech/tiktok-data-china/index.html
Yes, the evidence is a little thin. Saying they have been "caught" might have been a bit overzealous on my part. But there was a leaked audio recording where TikTok employees talked about how US user data can be accessed by China before that.
In 2020 TikTok acknowledged that their protocols aren't protecting the user data sufficiently. This was in response to an investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in 2019.
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/our-approach-to-security
So even though "caught" might have been overzealous, there has been plenty of evidence dating back to 2020 or maybe even before that, that supports the claim of TikTok sending user data illegally to China. Either by actually sending it or by giving the engineers from China access to the data.
Why sending Data abroad is an issue has multiple reasons. The first is that each country has its own privacy laws. You can only do certain information with the Data, certain Data can only be stored for a short period of time, others can't be stored at all. Again, as a European citizen, I have the right to have my data deleted. But that's pointless if a copy of my data exists in China where the EU has no authority.
Calling for legislation on data brokers isn't stopping TikTok, these legislations exist already. There are rules and protocols on how and which data can be sent abroad. TikTok isn't compliant with that.
Then there is the issue of national security. And that's why China doing this is deemed more dangerous than other western countries because China is a potential hostile nation. You just need to take a look at how social media is a security risk in Ukraine for both the Ukrainians and the Russians. Having a foreign nation access to more extensive data than what is publicly shared is even worse. For example, tracking user Data of key military and government personnel gives them a much easier time on creating a profile. Hence banning TikTok on government phones. If Google or another domestic company does this kind of stuff then the information is at least not in potential hostile hands. And further, the US has the authority and capability to do something against it if the data were used in a hostile manner. They can seize the servers, arrest key personnel, etc. They can't do that with Chinese nationals living in China.
I got rid of all my non-stick pans and almost always use stainless steel. I still have one ceramic pan.
Fish isn't a problem, I cook it a lot too. The first few times it might stick but once you got used to it, it's easy. The important part is for the pan to get to the right temperature and for you to not trying to flip the fish too soon after placing it in the pan.
The only thing that's actually difficult are sunny side up eggs. I just can't get them to work for some reason. Scrambled eggs and omelette work perfectly fine though.
Cleaning them is also much easier than I thought. Just don't let stuff dry in them and they are as easy to clean as other pans. But unlike other pans even if things burn and really get stuck you can still clean them fairly easily. Just let it soak in warm water for a few hours and then you can scrub them clean with stainlesssteel sponge. It might require a little bit more force but since you don't have to be careful it's less frustrating. If something ever got stuck in my non-stick pan, it was the worst.
And being able to just stick the entire pan in the oven is such a convenient thing.
I think the biggest issue is simply that there was no need to change the system if there was no problem to begin with. Any changes to the system would lead to some people losing their ability to vote for no good reason.
If they stick with the law for a few decades no one will care anymore because everyone is used to it. But this year 14,000 people lost the ability to vote and they prevented about 0.4 people from commiting voter fraud. That's not very proportional.
Of course it exists. There is venison and other wild hunted meat. In many places these animals have to be shot anyhow for population control. Overhunting would be the only issue here.
Then there are purely pasture fed animals. Especially with goats this is common . But there are also some cattle and pig farms. As long as the land itself wasn't deforested and is given enough time to repair itself, it's perfectly sustainable.
Then there are things like keeping chicken in your garden that are only fed kitchen scraps. Depending on your household size you can even keep 1-2 pigs that way.
If any of these options are available to you, they can be more environmental friendly than some plant based foods. Locally sourced version is definitely better than having plants shipped across the globe.
As you said the only issue is the quantity and also the desire for premium cuts. A lot of meat is currently wasted because it's "undesirable". Some parts will find their way into animal food but a lot also just gets thrown away.
For anyone who doesn't read the article but gets upset at the title because climate friendly meat actually exist. It's about a new label for meat that says "Environmental Friendly". Similar to the certificate for "Organic" or "GMO-FREE".
And the certificate is bullshit. Even in it's strictest form you only need a 10% reduction in CO2 production to the industry standard to qualify. Which is nothing.
But it gets worse, the rating is done by third party companies who have leeway in setting the industry standard. One company even has the industry standard set higher than the actual industry average.
So overall the certificate is bullshit that makes people feel better but doesn't actually do anything.
TikTok bans aren't considered because people dislike TikTok. They are considered because TikTok refuses to comply with local laws regarding sending user data across borders. There are some strict regulations on how this can be done.
And while this plays into your point 4 it's not a China only problem. Facebook and co had similar issues in the EU. But they have found a way to stay compliant with local laws. TikTok was repeatably caught doing not following the laws. And even in the latest hearing they refused to commit to stop sending data to China.
And that's also where TikTok being more invasive comes into place. Because once the data is in China there are fewer rules in place what they can do with it. I also have no way of getting that data deleted either. While if the data stays in the EU there are regulations on what they can do with it, how to store it etc.
I am not that knowledgeable about the difference in data law between China and the US so maybe for US citizen the difference is negligible.
The big clubs are all an organized crime syndicate. How bad the situation will be mostly depend on your exact location. Especially with the Hell's Angels the involvement in organized crime depends a lot on the exact charter. Some just do illegal gambling, some light narcotics and gun trades while others are also involved in human trafficking and forced prostitution.
In most of the western world organized crime usually stays away from regular citizens. That's why many people here say if you don't approach them they will leave you be. But crime always affects regular people. And there is basically nothing you can do. It's just up to luck whether you specifically get affected or not.
When the Hell's Angels started to move into Europe most politicians just ignored it. But a war between locals clubs, the Hell's Angles and then the Banditos (who also moved into Europe) broke out almost immediately. Some people even got killed. But politicians only stepped in when a civilian got killed or severely injured because some gang member shot a rocket into a rivaling gang's bar. Then shit moved back into the shadows.
Don't you know the migrants are causing the hurricanes in the first place.
In BG3 encumbrance is so pointless. The increased carry capacity and reduced armor weight make it a non-factor. The few times you actually reach it you just sort by weight and send some of the heavier stuff to camp. You can even do it during combat. So they should have just gotten rid of it. You are bringing all your resources at all times anyhow and the inventory manamgent is still terrible.
The current system is just a minor inconvenience because you will have to go to your camp when you reach a vendor and want to get rid of some of the extra stuff. I would much prefer it if they either stick to the base rules, with base weight values and encumbrance starting at 5x the strength value. Then one would have to make actual decisions on what to bring. But right now, even with 8 strength you never have any issues. Or they just get rid of it.
And that's how I feel about encumbrance in general. Most games have such absurd high carry limits that the system doesn't add anything and just becomes an inconvenience and annoyance.
No I am not assuming it literally says so. They banned the Abaya starting this year. The headscarf ban and stricter enforcing of religious symbols was back in 2004.
The French education minister has said that nearly 300 pupils arrived at school on Monday wearing the abaya, the long Muslim robe which was banned in schools last week.
Yes, it is very hard to differentiate between cultural and religious clothings in the Arabic world. And that's why banning the hardscarf while controversial is still supported by most. But things are starting to get ridiculous and is closer to "banning what is different".
Where in the article is it mentioning that they covered their head? Do you mean the picture? They aren't even showacsing an abaya in the picture. Some of the girls are wearing sweaters and long sleeved shirts. And the head is covered by a headscarf. Yes, it will be very difficult to find any depiction of people wearing an abaya without a headscarf because it's mostly worn by muslims and they will cover their head with an additional headscarf. Just as it will be very rare to find any clothing displayed by muslim women without them covering their head.
At the end of August, the education minister announced that pupils would be banned from wearing the loose-fitting full-length robes
That is how they defined the abaya. A loose-fitting full-length robe. There is no mentioning of covering the head. The abaya is no more a religious clothing than any "church clothes" are. It's like black ties that are worn at funerals, like white button down shirts worn by certain missionaries. These items see use outside of their religious areas and so to abayas. They are worn to many occasions and not explictly religious.
So let's ban underwear and shoes because those are also worn in the Muslim world. And anyone who is wearing a baseball cap or hat isn't allowed to take it off because taking off a hat inside has christian influence.
The abaya is just like a suit or a dress worn by people to church. And neither are banned in public schools. If a french girls wears an abaya few would even know it's an abaya. And ton of western style maxi-dresses are similar in style to an abaya.
Any dress that is too long and wide.
A lot depends on the exact conditions. If the WFH/remote work let's my live anywhere in the world, I'd take that in a heartbeat. If I still have to be in a specific country it depends on how bad the commute is. If it's 10 minute to a train station, hop on a train for 40 minutes and another 10 to the office, then I take the 4 day work week. But if the commute is driving or lots of transfering then I would go with WFH.
They often sell an auto-install USB stick you just have to plug into your PC. So at least there is some effort put into it that still makes it "worth paying for". And if you need to install it on multiple devices, it can save a lot of time if you don't know how to do it yourself.
That's the thing, an abaya doesn't cover your head. There might be some designs that do but in general it's just a maxi-dress with long sleeves. So that's why I think this is stupid. I can understand banning wearing it with an Hijab or other types of headscarves. But as it stand they are sending children home because their dress is too long.
It's not the standard, it's just something that started to pop up in some university courses. Anything before that we usually are just graded 1-6/A-F. But even 15 years ago when I attended University there were a few courses that required a 70%+ for passing and what I have heared this has become more common. It's basically to weed out people and reduce the number of students since university is usually free.
I blame the school grading system for it. 70% and below is already a failing grade in many courses. So by extension anything that gets rated 7 or below is asscoiated with failure.
I am not from the US, so I don't know how long this grading system has been in use there but here in Central Eruope that's a rather new thing. That's why a 5/10 didn't feel as bad 20 years ago while today a 7/10 feels worse.
France banned basically all religious symbols in public schools. This includes crosses or the Jewish kippah. It's now expanded to include the abaya dresses. Veils and headscarves were already banned.
I think it's stupid since the dress isn't necessarily religious. It's just commonly worn by Muslims. Might as well ban white buttoning down shirts at this point because that's what some christians wear, especially to church.
Brandon Sanderson Cosmere fits the bill and is super easy to get into.
The Mistborn series might fit your description the most. But my personal favorite is The Stormlight Archive. The Stormlight Archive is what got me back into reading.
What makes the Cosmere so easy and enjoyable to get into is that different series are only vaguely connected. They take place in the same universe but on different worlds or realms. But since they share the same creation "myth" there are similarities between these worlds. When getting started a lot of the connections feel more like an easter egg. An easter egg that teaches you about the history of the universe.
But each series is basically self contained. Most characters and people aren't even aware of the existance of these different worlds. The focus is mostly on the specific world. Meaning you don't have to worry about reading order or missing out. Heck, if you don't enjoy a specific series you can even skip it without losing too much.
There are a few unpublished or planned books that will focus on the connection of these worlds, on characters that travel between them. They will probably be the most enjoyable if you read everything in the Cosmere.